Ultimate Priest Setup (Guide)

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builds regarding priests, isn’t like you’re a BP or Support, I’ve always thought that if you play priest you should be able to do both things or at least try those 2 things. Being versatile is a skill that not many players possess; switching gear in 2 seconds or less or changing skill bars isn’t easy for everyone.

First of all, I want to ask you: Why do you want to play priest? This class is by far the class that most shit gets. No kidding. You’re gonna be blamed for everything. I want to emphasize that sometimes it might be true that a bad priest can cause a party go down but my experience tells that the success doesn’t rely on the priest but in the strategy itself of how the party decide to take an objective. I’ve played with parties that need to be healed every 2 seconds and parties where I do not heal at all because every player does a good job taking care of himself. Damn, I’ve seen warriors or mages don’t even potting at all expecting priest to do all the healing. That’s what happens when people do not understand how other classes are played and they get lazy and need a priest to babysit them.

Priest is probably the first target for the enemy. If priest down, no heals, no duffs, no cures, the rest of the party will go down. If there’s a mage, then priests turn into second target. So basically not only you’re gonna get shit from your own party members, you’re gonna get heat from the enemy too. They are going to gangbang you hard and you need to be ready to take that heat and at the same time attend your party members spamming chat “duff duff” “write name” “bufffff” “heal heal heal” and such like if you were just chilling not busy trying to stay yourself alive. That’s what priest is about. Taking shit from everybody. So if you’re ready to receive that kind of fun, keep on reading.

The basics

Generally speaking there are two kind of priests: Battlepriest and Support priest. Battlepriest is pretty much an old build that worked well at first and then got forgotten (for not saying fucked up). Support is the classic priest that keeps the party alive with heals and helps buffing (incrementing HP, defense, etc) or duffing (taking away those buffs or reducing hp, ac,etc) to the enemy. Battlepriests in the past used STR based armor/weapon to hit even stronger than warriors sacrificing HP/AC stats in the run. They were a difficult and very expensive class to play with.

Within the years paper BP was replaced with different builds in order to cope with the introduction of new weapons and armors until Mgame finally decided to fix the INT based attack and a new kind of BP was born: the INT BP. Basically, the INT BP get his AP from INT stats/accessories. It only uses INT based weapons (maces). It can’t get as much AP as old paper BP but it can tank properly and stay alive a lot longer. BPs use HELIS (Master 12), which is the highest spammable attack skill that priests have.

The support priest, on the other hand, is a build that focuses on enough INT and STR points to hold armor and the rest of points and accessories go to HP. They usually use a shield and a mace that increases some stats to help boost defense or resistances. This kind of priest do not use HELIS or JUDGEMENT, they focus on having points in useful skills to support the party.

With the new version of KO a hybrid or a versatile priest can be possible because there’s a way to combine both worlds into one build, sacrificing, yes, some HP but gaining a little bit of AP in the process.

To remember: STR points besides giving you enough strength to hold your armor (shell for both cases) also gives more weight capability, that means that you can carry more pots. Sadly, with the introduction of pot packs (5k mana, 5k hp) we don’t need that much STR to hold stones/books and I believe STR points for armor is penalizing the class wasting points in a stat that isn’t necessary anymore.

INT points give you mana and mana is life. Shell +7 will require at least 188 points which is around 6k+ worth of mana, a good pool for complete heals and skills. In new KO, INT is also the base to calculate damage, so the higher INT the higher attack. Also, after 100 points in INT you’ll receive an increase on your resistances which is a MUST for any serious pk player.

HP points give you more HP and also after 100 points you’ll get an increase on your AC (defense). A decent AC for a priest is over 1300 (shield included). But we as a priest we will always gonna try to improve that number.

When working on your build you must consider those things: High HP (chitin build) mean less int/attack. High mana/attack means less HP and AC. Sadly you can’t have everything but you can find a balance between the stats with bonuses from accessories.

Skill tree basics:

My recommendation: read the skill tree. Test the skills as much as you can.

There are 3 main skill sets and 1 master set. Master set includes useful passive skills that reduce damage from the enemy. These are a MUST for any kind of priest. It doesn’t matter if you play BP or Support you need at least 10 on master, if you go for HELIS (best attack), you need 12 points in Master. The 15 points in Master for curse refraction is a personal choice. Curse refraction will give back the curse to the caster which is always nice against other priests.

Healer skill tree has several skills and it’s also a must for any build, because you need heals, cures and recovery skills. Use recovery skills as much as you can! Many priests don’t use them but they are useful! Most priests will only use 60 points in healer to have complete party heal which gives 10k heal to all party members. Over that you get GG recovery skills that are often not used or picked due to long time cool downs. So basically you need to get cure curse, cure disease (mostly used against dot damage), 1920 heal, complete individual heal, 960 party heal (in hardcore pk almost useless since damages at lvl 83 is over 1.5k) and complete 10k party heal. The completes have cooldown, so the priest need to be able to cast 1920 as much as he can healing one target at the time, which is something that many players do not understand at all. At solo you might only need complete individual heal and cure but since you might want to play support at times, it’s better to get 60 points in heal.

Buffer skill tree in 60 points gives the basic 1500 and undying hp buffs and 300 AC buff. Up to 70 you’ll get 2k buff and 350 ac buff and party cure (probably the best skill for a priest). Party cure will cure all the party members instantly as long as they are not too far from you. Here in ParadoxKO. I’ve seen many priests just picking buffer for party cure and still playing with scrolls, which is wise. If you’re into serious pk you’re not gonna use priest buffs. Expecting a priest to stop healing and curing in an intense battle just to buff you is out of question. But anyway, if your party uses buffer skills in pk, you, as a priest need to get used to party cure + group buffs. Group buffs will buff the entire party with the same buff at the same time, of course, only for the moment of the fight, then you’ll buff giving the right buff, but in that moment, group buff is what most priests use. The best group buff is 2k hp and 300 ac party buffs which are available at 76 points in aura. Lvl 80 buff gives Superioris (which is 2500 hp buff and the curse block).

Duff skill tree is what you need to pk. Most priests that choose buff still sacrifice 3 points to put on Malice (takes away AC buff or reduces AC by 20%). The most used build goes up to 70 to get a range duff that removes AP buff/reduces AP. In the meantime there are mana duffs, hp duffs, ac duffs, ap duffs. Experiment. Duffer is the most feared class, because it takes away buffs and the enemy has two choices, either get cured or die. It’s very hard for any enemy to recover from multiple duffs without priest and still attacking, so basically in a party, the duffer will help the enemy party become weak and that’s what we want. That’s the main difference between buffer and duffer, the buffer will make your party stronger but the duffer will make the enemy weaker, so in any decent party you need at least 2 priests, one buffer, one duffer. Both have different jobs but they are needed to succeed. With the lack of priests in server, thing changes a bit, but this principle has ruled since the beginning of the game. If you’re a Battlepriest there’s no excuse to not be a duffer. I heard many can’t afford scrolls so that’s why they are buffers, or buffer is a wise choice while leveling, but after you get your level and gear, duffer is the way to go if you plan to play solo as a battlepriest, with duffs you can make up for the lack of AP.

Gear

Most important question from everybody: which gear should I use? Well, depends on several factors, money, time, play-style etc. I’ll only mention the current gear in the server, not the UTC because with UTC things change a lot. If Aesteris & Twostars release Krowaz & UTC soon, I’ll update the guide.

Armor: Shell. There has been a huge discussion among priests between the choice between chitin 8 and chitin shell 7, well, what about shell +8? That’s my choice. That’s what I aim for in the meantime. Because with krowaz release of course all the priests are gonna switch to krowaz. It really depends on what you can afford, shell 7 isn’t expensive and even you can make your own set since shells aren’t hard to get. Now, what do you put on it? HP or INT? Debate. I choose HP. Some use a mix. I choose HP because still with 1600 AP you can make damage on a duffed target. If you go support, choose HP.

Accessories: second important thing. As a support priest you’ll want accessories that boost health, defense (ac), resistances and weapon defense. As a solo BP you’ll want the same but add some INT to it. Iron set is a must for any serious priest. If you can’t afford there are cheaper options but they don’t give the defense that iron set gives. Everything goes down of what you can afford and what stat you need to boost to either attack harder or stay alive. Of course, the higher the + the better. Also, some priests have different sets of accessories for different situations.

Shield: with krowaz open, you’ll see Gab adamant being the best choice for players. Personal +7 is a must, then it’s up to the player to be able to have several shields to use when needed. Scorpion shield is very nice regarding resistances, Defender of the lord is very nice against rogues, Dread shield gives a nice AC boost, etc. As a priest I always use 2-3 shields and I switch them depending on the occasion. Personal is very good for all purposes but it lacks dagger defense. You must think what’s the most popular class and how most parties are formed, but bottom line is: get a +7 shield, any kind to start with. I’ve found that in Apex most priest choose Dread Shield for its AC boost but DOL 7 is also good. Of course Chitin Shield is the dreamy shield for everyone playing KO for a while.

Weapon: if you’re support priest, use a club/mace that gives any kind of resistance, int boost, hp boost or weapon defense. There’s a myth that certain clubs make you cast faster. That’s a lie. Basically as a support you’ll want to boost all the things that make you survive longer forgetting any kind of AP. If you’re a BP you want to use dual maces like Holy animors and Smite hammers. Remember that to stay alive you need: good AC (defense), Resistances (against fire, lightning, poison, etc.) weapon defense (against several types of weapons) int (gives more mana/attack) health (gives you more HP).

Tips and advices:

-Don’t be a stationary target. It’s easy to get blocked or to make your skills fail. Try to move but not as much that you lose frames to heal/cure. I’ve seen the two types: the typical priests that moves too much and forget to cure/heal and the one who stays in the middle of the battle not moving. Both are bad play-styles, try to move but don’t forget to do your job.

-Don’t try to be the hero going at the front of your party. Common mistake “I’m a priest I can’t die” Boom. You die. Your party dies. A good priest will try to remain unnoticed or in the back. Only duff when fight already happens, which is harder to cure/avoid. Most duffers cast a duff as soon as they find the other party/enemy. That will take two routes: either they get cure fast and you’ll wait for cooldown while getting fucked or enemy/target will town or runaway. Engage the enemy in the fight and then you duff. Also, use rice cakes to make yourself smaller that helps with hitting box being smaller and harder for melees to reach with their combo.

-Check if your party members use buff, scrolls. Try to get as much info you can in order to calculate which are your weak players and which are strong. Commonly, this will occur after a few waves of enemies, by then you already know who is weak as fuck and you’ll want to re-arrange your party bar in order to have them in hand.

-People will die. Don’t get frustrated. If someone gets frustrated with you tell them to fuck off. Don’t take shit from people who can’t even pot or combo properly. If your party can’t get nps and they blame you for the lack of duffs, isn’t because you suck as a duffer, is because your party can’t kill for shit because any good melee/sin/mage can kill a target without duffs.

-Avoid stupid fights. A stupid fight is something like 6 vs 1. You’re not gonna win unless you’re a godly player. Avoid crowds at you unless you really know what you’re doing. If the enemy has no priest and you can cast torment and massive you might get a chance but being the only target is always hard, there are so many variables: you can get stun, leg cutted, whatever. If you play BP force the 1 vs 1 either luring, kiting, whatever, even 3 vs 1 is a good fight if you know what you’re doing and this means: you know when to heal yourself, when to duff, when to switch to shield etc.

-Use any item in game that gives you a boost/advantage. Scrolls, pot packs, resistance pots, whatever.

-Always cure yourself first, then the rest. Yes I know, some people get frustrated because they are not getting “cured” fast. As a gold rule, I always cure myself first because I’m the one who needs to keep the healing, duff going. Then I cure the highest AP/tanker in my party, which is often the better geared player. He gets the kills, he needs to be cured. Sometimes we fall in the mistake of trying to keep alive weak players curing them, healing them constantly, but let’s face it: the fucker is lvl 60+/ 70+ and he’s trying to beat a fully geared lvl 83. Send them to EXP or make money. In serious pk a weak player will constantly bitch or complain because he can’t keep up and it will be annoying for you and the rest. Also, many “I’m pro” will bitch and complain because they keep dying in stupid ways and will blame you for it. Don’t let their ego bs get under your skin, a real pro player will not die unless he’s gangbanged by 3-4 enemies fully duffed. The rest are just talkers.

- Don’t heal unless it’s necessary. Many priests burn their mana pool healing non stop even at times when no heal is needed. Be wise with your healing, cooldown is a bitch.

-If you’re partying with another priest, send him a pm to organize regarding heals, cures or duff. There’s no point on two priests throwing torment at the same time in the same spot or healing 10k at the same time. Try to pace heals and cures. It’s better to organize 4 and 4 to be cured by each individual than 8 for both sometimes both curing the same target.

-Use weapon defense items, even talias. Try to gather as much as you can. As a BP vses are frequent and you want to win hence get some.

-Practice switching weapons/shields. Some people even play with their inventory tab open.

-Learn how to use GATE skill. It’s fucking useful. To town you need 50% or more HP and sometimes you can’t escape an inevitable death, in those cases your last chance is to gate to safety.

-Use poison resist from the basic skills. If you’re not a buffer you’ll miss fresh mind, but at least in the basic skills we have a skill that gives a slight boost on poison resist.

-Avoid chasing people to heal. They should know better. Run towards the priest not from the priest. If they runaway from you and the party and then they complain, kick them out of the party. That player doesn’t even know the basics. A priest will not leave the party radio just to heal a guy running from death.

-In a vs against assassin use your duffs, sin will cure. Use your duff again. Pace the duffs. Assassins panic when they get duffed so they cast cure right away. Most rogues can’t carry many cures (because of weight) so many will think twice about keep curing themselves. Force them to stop curing and deal with the fight duffed. In that case you’ll get an advantage.

-In a vs against an archer move around, don’t let them use their arrow shower combo. Don’t stay in the same place, hit and move around. Make it difficult for them, only stop to heal yourself. Remember that archers will try to cancel your heals/duffs, move further to avoid the cancellation.

-Heals over duffs. If there’s some pressure and you’re getting a lot of heat, emphasize on heals rather than duffing the enemy. If only one duff need to be casted, try to cast massiveness. AP duff will make the damage a lot less and you’ll have the chance to breathe a little bit.

-Duffers and archers will drain your mana. You know that. I use my mana on my right click and I click it non stop. I don’t care if I’m full, it’s like a reflex because everything consumes lots of mana and you’ll need it to keep yourself alive.

-Try to learn the cooldown times for everything. It’s hard, but once you get used it’s better than just watch your skill bar. You might lose your sight from the party bar or the surroundings.

-As a BP always try to make the enemy think that you’re weak or you don’t know how to play. This will encourage them to go after you and you want that. This trick could only work a few times but it’s worth it. Believe me.

-Use all your skills. Even the recoveries, the small mana duffs, everything is useful in a way or another. Some people use 1 skillbar (warriors), some other use 2 or 3. Priests have so many with so many different combinations lol.

-Tell your party to carry rezz stones. Always carry the lowest rezz skill to use in pk and rezz if possible. I know, I know, many people will lie dead shouting in chat “rezz me” “rezzzz” “zzzzz” and so while you’re keeping the rest alive, but you know, a fucker is born every day.

-Lag is a bitch. Lag is between you, your heal and your target. Sometimes you can’t help it, the heal didn’t come in time and your friend dies. Try to anticipate. This is the most difficult skill in KO, anticipate. Read the enemy. Read your friends. Try to be one step ahead the rest because lag will hit and you’ll be blamed.

And the most important for me…

-Only play with people whom you feel comfortable with. Playing with randoms is a lottery. You might get shit or not. You’ll never know. Sometimes you’re doing your best and some people will give you shit anyway, some people will nerd-rage-quit, some others will kick you out of their party. It doesn’t matter, in the end you’re precious because in private servers not many people play support. Everybody wants to be the killer and nobody cares about the lack of support and when there is some support they will complain. Play with your clannies, with your friends, with people you know and they know how to play. If you’re going for solo BP experience, try to avoid party because party wants support, not BP. People expect you to heal them, cure them and etc. unless you told them nicely that you’re playing BP because you want to improve your skill. There’s nothing wrong on being not accurate or learning the class, but some people will never understand. To avoid all that, play with people that know this already.

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Long guide. I read it. I like the fact the you put emphasis on single heals. 10k single and 1920 single are imperative to success. This one was long. I see you posted warrior guide also. But I won't read that because a pinecone can play warrior easily.